A Terrible Flagrant Foul Call Crushed Seton Hall’s Tournament Dreams

Seton Hall and Arkansas were locked in a tight battle into the final minute of the second half in their first round matchup of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. After a traveling violation with under 25 seconds to play turned the ball over to Arkansas, Seton Hall was forced to foul down 72-71 to send the Razorbacks to the free throw line and hope for a miss or keep the chance to tie the game with a three-pointer.

The Razorbacks successfully broke the Seton Hall trap and got the ball into the frontcourt, where the Pirates fouled. However, in the act of fouling (which was certainly a forceful foul), the Arkansas player tripped on incidental contact and was sent to the floor. The referees reviewed the play and determined it should be a Flagrant 1, which gave Arkansas two shots and the ball. This let the Razorbacks take a two-possession lead after making 3-of-4 free throws after Seton Hall had to foul again.